Canada 0-4 Denmark: Young Canucks overwhelmed

By Rudi Schuller

The inexperience of Canada's latest squad was on full display as Denmark ran roughshod in both teams' first match of 2013.

A young Canada side was taught a tough lesson as it fell 4-0 to a sharper, more experienced Denmark team on Saturday afternoon in Tucson, Arizona.

The Canadians were put to the sword early, with Denmark's Andreas Cornelius finding himself completely unmarked in front of goal in the eighth minute. The Danish striker made no mistake, taking full advantage of the ample time and space and placing a header neatly into the lower corner past a sprawling Lars Hirschfeld.

Three minutes later, Denmark against pounced on a lacklustre Canadian defence, as Kaspar Lorentzen was allowed to virtually walk straight through the middle and easily slot home.

The shaken Canucks seemed to settle things down after the two quick strikes, keeping the opposition further from Hirschfeld's goal for increasing periods of time. Denmark was all too happy to take the foot off the gas for a while though, and the Europeans still maintained the lion's share of possession despite not being able to break through during the middle period of the opening half.

Eventually Denmark would notch a third marker, with Cornelius scoring his second of the match off a corner in the 35th minute. Once again, the young Canadian defence was caught flat-footed on the play, with no one in red reacting to the ball bouncing around the goalmouth.

Despite a slower second half in which both teams emptied their benches, Denmark tallied a fourth and final goal through Cornelius, who completed his hat-trick with a well-taken strike in the 66th minute.

The rest of the match saw neither side look too interested in making forward thrusts, as the result was no longer in doubt.

Denmark will look to capitalize on the momentum when it faces Mexico in nearby Glendale next week, while Canada next faces the United States in Houston on Tuesday.